The Plane’s the Thing

Ruth Leverenz, Falls Church, VA
September 17, 2008

ATCA Symposium on NextGen Issues

Well, good afternoon. And thank you for inviting me. Pete [Dumont], ATCA has a history of raising the right issue the right way. From what I’m hearing about the session so far, that’s true today.

I’ve been around a few years, and it seems to me we’ve talked about this one once or twice before.

For those of you who don’t know it, the FAA published a series of books that chronicle our past and the history of aviation in general. I think the first one is called “Bonfires to Beacons.” The edition that covers the 1960s includes the blow-by-blow description of the fight between and among Congress, controllers, pilots and engineers … about modernizing the system. But I will say this: The issue might be similar, but we have better Powerpoint presentations today.

Yes, the technology is different — bigger, better, faster — and exponentially more expensive. That’s my budget past talking there.

The struggles are indeed similar, but the consequences are considerably larger. The consequences — system performance, the costs of both government and operators, and importantly — what if we make the wrong call? We’re headed toward a billion passengers. The price of jet fuel is driving the amount of red ink on the airline ledgers.

In short, we need to ensure not just an open dialogue, but a discussion that asks the right questions of each other. NextGen is the plan — but an architect’s plans tend to work out best when the people building the house are actively engaged with the planners. That is the approach that will sustain the forward momentum if we’re to achieve success.

Looking at our situation broadly, we face a number of key challenges: For one, we know that the demand for air transportation will grow in the long term. We know that safety, security, and national defense must be sustained, but I think “improved” is probably a better word to use there. Aviation’s environmental footprint will need to shrink, and tackling the energy costs that are rippling through the system today is essential. And as I alluded to earlier, the total system must lower costs over time.

A critical decision in all this will revolve around the aircraft capabilities we will need for NextGen success. When it comes to looking at mid-term equipage, we’ve got to start with the airplane.

Aircraft capabilities are essential to NextGen. As we’ve learned from too many of the stop-and-start modernization plans of the past, decisions to implement new avionics-enabled capabilities must be made by industry and government together. And both sides need to be clear on what we’re buying into and what return on investment you can achieve. Clarity on proposed aircraft capabilities is especially important and especially challenging. These must be vetted and refined and matured by the aviation community.

The good news here is that many of NextGen’s capabilities are already on aircraft up there now. On Friday, Bobby Sturgell was in San Francisco for an ASPIRE demonstration. The flight, and the coverage of the flight, was outstanding. ABC news on the West Coast called ASPIRE an important part of NextGen. We’ve got to build on that success. It is essential that the capabilities selected for NextGen evolve from the capabilities of today. They’ve both got to be clearly justified and cost-effective.

Given the national significance of these challenges, partnership has to be the order of the day. And everyone must weigh in. Potential capabilities only turn into system performance when both sides make the required investment. Certainly aircraft operators will play a decisive role in the resolution of these challenges. The operators must make focused investments in the key aircraft equipment enablers required to deliver operational capabilities that are going to enable NextGen — including the avionics and other aircraft performance requirements And operators must have some real assurance- not just wishful thinking — that the investments they make in new aircraft and avionics will pay-off.

In the most recent version of the NextGen Plan, we provided high-level operational concept descriptions for more than 30 proposed mid-term improvements. Twelve of those require new enabling avionics, and there’s a timetable for each.

To help us make the key decisions in a collaborative way, we are getting input from our stakeholders. We’ve received a significant amount of input — coming from the JPDO aircraft working group, the ATMAC, the RTCA, the ADS-B ARC and others about the need to open our collective tool kit to address the issues around aircraft equipage.

Clearly, we need to move past our focus on discrete operational improvements and discrete systems. At the FAA we’ve come to realize that we need to take an integrated approach — factoring in a broad view of NextGen capabilities. We need to define exactly how the NAS could operate in 2018. We need to be able to explain how data comm., ADS-B, RNP and other existing systems will work together to make things better than they are right now. And most importantly, we need to understand from operators how these systems can translate into business performance. After all, an industry that makes money can invest and upgrade faster than one simply seeking to survive.

Now that I’ve said all that, I must underscore something that’s quite important, but easy to overlook when you’re talking about avionics. We’ve got to look at the full performance of the aircraft, and that includes noise and emissions. Frankly the only way we will be able to fully utilize the capabilities NextGen will offer is if we ensure aviation reduces its environmental footprint. I know that may not be a popular thought, but this isn’t a popularity contest. We’ve got a responsibility to be green, and this needs to be a basic expectation in how our system operates. NextGen isn’t just about ATM.

Environment and energy are the 800-pound gorillas in the room, and we need to give them a seat at the table. Dr. Paul Kaminski just last week testified before the House Committee on Science and Technology. He said that NextGen “must be a strong and urgent priority for the nation.” The environment was one of his examples. I think he’s precisely correct.

So let’s turn it over to John Allen and his panel for their strategies on equipage. Since the aircraft is a key integrator for NextGen. we’re really looking forward to their insights.

Fonte: FAA 18/09/2008.